Moving video tags

ABSTRACT

A display device displays a tag overlaid on a video scene in a first portion of a video screen. The displayed tag is associated with content depicted in the video, includes descriptive text information, and is clickable, so that upon selection by a user, additional information associated with the tag is displayed. Based at least in part on an indication that the tag has been selected by a user, the tag undergoes vertical and/or horizontal repositioning relative to the first portion of the video screen, to a second portion of the video screen. The display device displays the video and the tag overlaid on the video in the second portion of the video screen. The displaying of the tag includes displaying at least a portion of the additional information associated with the tag.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/907,095, filed on Feb. 27, 2018, entitled “MOVING VIDEO TAGS,” nowU.S. Pat. No. 10,187,688, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/269,701, flied on Sep. 19, 2016, entitled“MOVING VIDEO TAGS,” now U.S. Pat. No. 9,906,829, which is acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/172,185, filed onJul. 11, 2008, entitled “MOVING VIDEO TAGS OUTSIDE OF A VIDEO AREA TOCREATE A MENU SYSTEM,” now U.S. Pat. No. 9,451,195, issued on Sep. 20,2016, which claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.60/949,505, filed on Jul. 12, 2007, entitled “VIDEO TAGS OUTSIDE OFVIDEO AREA.” The entire disclosures of all of the foregoing patentapplications are hereby incorporated by reference herein.

This application is related to co-pending U.S. patent application Ser.No. 11/499,315, filed on Aug. 4, 2006, entitled “DISPLAYING TAGSASSOCIATED WITH ITEMS IN A VIDEO PLAYBACK,” the entire disclosure ofwhich is hereby incorporated by reference herein.

This application is also related to co-pending U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/669,901 filed on Jan. 31, 2007 entitled “AUTHORING TOOL FORPROVIDING TAGS ASSOCIATED WITH ITEMS IN A VIDEO PLAYBACK,” now U.S. Pat.No. 8,656,282, issued on Feb. 18, 2014, the entire disclosure of whichis hereby incorporated by reference herein

SUMMARY OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

Tags in a video area are established by displaying the tags with avisual association to an item in the video. Thereafter, the tags move toa tag menu area that is outside of the video area. Tags are selectable,such as by clicking on the tag, to cause additional actions such asdisplaying a web page related to the tag. Tags move and disappear/appearin conjunction with the video as the video action progresses. In oneembodiment, the tag menu area is obtained when a video with a firstaspect ratio is displayed in a display area that has a different aspectratio. The difference in aspect ratios leaves a portion in the displayarea that is not used for the video that can be used for the tag menuarea.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a first illustration of a prior art approach to displayingvideo;

FIG. 2 is a second illustration of a prior art approach to displayingvideo;

FIG. 3 is a third illustration of a prior art approach to displayingvideo;

FIG. 4 is a fourth illustration of a prior art approach to displayingvideo;

FIG. 5 shows high definition format video displayed within a standarddefinition area;

FIG. 6 shows a standard definition format video displayed within ahigh-definition format video;

FIG. 7 shows a prior art approach where standard definition video isshown in a standard definition display area;

FIG. 8 shows high-definition video in a standard-definition area;

FIG. 9 illustrates video including a tag;

FIG. 10 shows a video after tag movement;

FIG. 11 shows a video after additional tag movement; and

FIG. 12 shows tags reaching their final positions.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

FIGS. 1-4 illustrate prior art approaches to placing a video of a firstaspect ratio into a display area of a second aspect ratio. In FIG. 1,video area 100 is a 4:3 aspect ratio such as is commonly used instandard definition (SD) video playback. The ratio 4:3 corresponds tothe width divided by the height of the video area. FIG. 2 shows videoarea 110 which is representative of a 16:9 aspect ratio that is commonlyused in high-definition (HD) video formats. Typically, the SD and HDformats are best displayed in a display area that matches the nativedimensions of the video aspect ratio. In such cases the full displayarea (e.g., a television or display screen, predetermined area such ason a web page or computer program, etc.) is filled completely with thevideo area.

However, in many cases it is undesirable or impossible to change thevideo display area to exactly match the video aspect ratio. For example,a user may have an SD television and may wish to view an HD program. Insuch a case, FIG. 3 illustrates a “letterbox” type of solution to theproblem. In FIG. 3, an HD display area 120 accommodates HD video program130 by scaling and vertically centering the HD video area so that it iscentered within the SD screen area. This leaves blank or unused areas102 and 104 at the top and bottom, respectively, of display area 120.These blank areas are typically black or grey and are not used todisplay video or any other information.

Similarly, FIG. 4 illustrates an example where SD video program 150 isdisplayed within HD display area 140. This leaves blank “pillars” 106and 108 on the left and right sides, respectively, of the display area.

FIG. 5 shows an approach according to an embodiment of the presentinvention where HD format video program 132 is displayed within SDdisplay area 122 so that a lower blank area 105 is maximized. This blankarea is advantageously used for display of enhanced or auxiliaryinformation associated with the video program. For example, tags can bedisplayed in the video and in the blank area as described, below.Similarly, FIG. 6 shows an SD format video 152 displayed within HD area142 so that a blank area 109 is maximized to the right of the video.This blank area can similarly be used for additional information relatedto the video or for other purposes. Naturally, the blank areas can bepositioned at the top and/or left sides of FIGS. 5 and 6, respectively.The display area can be on a physical display screen, on a portion of acomputer display or web page, or the display area can be defined byother means.

FIGS. 7-12 illustrate an HD format video displayed within an SD displayarea on a web page. FIG. 7 shows a prior art approach where SD video 208is shown in SD display area 210 of web page 206. The web page providesvideo transport controls at 220 for performing standard control over thevideo playback such as start, stop, pause, skip to start, move toposition, and volume control. Although specific controls are shown, ingeneral any type and design of video playback controls can be provided.

FIG. 8 shows HD format video 212 fit into the upper portion of the SDspace on the same web page. This creates blank space 224 which will beused for tag menu items as described below. Transport controls 222 areoverlayed onto the video area. However, other embodiments need notoverlay the transport controls but may place them in any desirableposition, such as in the position of FIG. 7, to the top, left or rightsides, not display them at all, etc.

FIG. 9 illustrates video area 212 after the video has started playingback. A video bubble or tag 226 is shown that provides information aboutthe model in the scene. Although specific video subject matter and tagtext is shown it should be apparent that the video contents and tagtext, design and other tag characteristics can be changed, as desired.As the video plays, the tag moves in the direction A to A′ to reside intag menu area 224.

FIG. 10 shows the video display a few seconds later when tag 226 hasmoved into the tag menu area 224. Additional tags 228 and 230 haveappeared in video area 212 to describe garments that the model iswearing. Visual pointers from tags 228 and 230 serve to associate eachtag with its respective garment item. Tag 226 will next move along thedirection B to B′ while tags 228 and 230 will each move to the tag menuarea.

FIG. 11 shows tag 226 positioned at the left side of tag menu area 224while tags 228 and 230 have moved to the tag menu area (and are still inmotion moving sideways to create more separation between them). FIG. 12illustrates a point in time where the tags have reached their finalpositions and additional information, such as price information andwebsite address information is also displayed into the tag menu area. Anew tag 240 has appeared to provide more information about the model. Inthis manner, any number and type of tag can be presented in associationwith an item in the video (or in the abstract) and can then be moved tothe tag menu area. Each tag can be “clickable” so that, upon selectionby a user, additional information related to the tag, such as a webpage, is displayed. Other functionality may be provided to the tags—suchas allowing a tag to expand to provide additional information, openingan adjacent window or frame next to the video playback to provideadditional information or functionality, etc. Although specific contenthas been used in this example, it should be apparent that any othercontent can be used for the video and/or the tags.

Many other types of hardware and software platforms can be used toimplement the functionality described herein. For example, a videoplayer can be included in a portable device such as a laptop, PDA, cellphone, game console, e-mail device, etc. The tag data can reside on astorage device, server, or other device that is accessed over anothernetwork. In general, the functions described can be performed by any oneor more devices, processes, subsystems, or components, at the same ordifferent times, executing at one or more locations.

Accordingly, particular embodiments can provide for computer playback ofvideo that supports automatically capturing of screen snapshots, in theaccommodation of tag information outside of a video play area. Further,while particular examples have been described herein, other structures,arrangements, and/or approaches can be utilized in particularembodiments.

Any suitable programming language can be used to implement features ofthe present invention including, e.g., C, C++, Java, PUI, assemblylanguage, etc. Different programming techniques can be employed such asprocedural or object oriented. The routines can execute on a singleprocessing device or multiple processors. The order of operationsdescribed herein can be changed. Multiple steps can be performed at thesame time. The flowchart sequence can be interrupted. The routines canoperate in an operating system environment or as stand-alone routinesoccupying all, or a substantial part, of the system processing.

Steps can be performed by hardware or software, as desired. Note thatsteps can be added to, taken from or modified from the steps in theflowcharts presented in this specification without deviating from thescope of the invention. In general, the flowcharts are only used toindicate one possible sequence of basic operations to achieve afunction.

In the description herein, numerous specific details are provided, suchas examples of components and/or methods, to provide a thoroughunderstanding of embodiments of the present invention. One skilled inthe relevant art will recognize, however, that an embodiment of theinvention can be practiced without one or more of the specific details,or with other apparatus, systems, assemblies, methods, components,materials, parts, and/or the like. In other instances, well-knownstructures, materials, or operations are not specifically shown ordescribed in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of embodiments of thepresent invention.

As used herein the various databases, application software or networktools may reside in one or more server computers and more particularly,in the memory of such server computers. As used herein, “memory” forpurposes of embodiments of the present invention may be any medium thatcan contain, store, communicate, propagate, or transport the program foruse by or in connection with the instruction execution system,apparatus, system or device. The memory can be, by way of example onlybut not by limitation, an electronic, magnetic, optical,electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, system,device, propagation medium, or computer memory.

A “processor” or “process” includes any human, hardware and/or softwaresystem, mechanism or component that processes data, signals or otherinformation. A processor can include a system with a general-purposecentral processing unit, multiple processing units, dedicated circuitryfor achieving functionality, or other systems. Processing need not belimited to a geographic location, or have temporal limitations. Forexample, a processor can perform its functions in “real time,”“offline,” in a “batch mode,” etc. Portions of processing can beperformed at different times and at different locations, by different(or the same) processing systems.

Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “anembodiment,” “a particular embodiment,” or “a specific embodiment” meansthat a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described inconnection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment ofthe present invention and not necessarily in all embodiments. Thus,respective appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment,” “in anembodiment,” “in a particular embodiment,” or “in a specific embodiment”in various places throughout this specification are not necessarilyreferring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features,structures, or characteristics of any specific embodiment of the presentinvention may be combined in any suitable manner with one or more otherembodiments. It is to be understood that other variations andmodifications of the embodiments of the present invention described andillustrated herein are possible in light of the teachings herein and areto be considered as part of the spirit and scope of the presentinvention.

Embodiments of the invention may be implemented by using a programmedgeneral purpose digital computer, by using application specificintegrated circuits, programmable logic devices, field programmable gatearrays, optical, chemical, biological, quantum or nanoengineeredsystems, components and mechanisms may be used. In general, thefunctions of the present invention can be achieved by any means as isknown in the art. Further, distributed, or networked systems, componentsand circuits can be used. Communication, or transfer, of data may bewired, wireless, or by any other means.

It will also be appreciated that one or more of the elements depicted inthe drawings/figures can also be implemented in a more separated orintegrated manner, or even removed or rendered as inoperable in certaincases, as is useful in accordance with a particular application. It isalso within the spirit and scope of the present invention to implement aprogram or code that can be stored in a machine readable medium topermit a computer to perform any of the methods described above.

Additionally, any signal arrows in the drawings/Figures should beconsidered only as exemplary, and not limiting, unless otherwisespecifically noted. Furthermore, the term “or” as used herein isgenerally intended to mean “and/or” unless otherwise indicated.Combinations of components or steps will also be considered as beingnoted, where terminology is foreseen as rendering the ability toseparate or combine is unclear.

As used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow,“a,” “an,” and “the” includes plural references unless the contextclearly dictates otherwise. Also, as used in the description herein andthroughout the claims that follow, the meaning of “in” includes “in” and“on” unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

The foregoing description of illustrated embodiments of the presentinvention, including what is described in the Abstract, is not intendedto be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise formsdisclosed herein. While specific embodiments of, and examples for, theinvention are described herein for illustrative purposes only, variousequivalent modifications are possible within the spirit and scope of thepresent invention, as those skilled in the relevant art will recognizeand appreciate. As indicated, these modifications may be made to thepresent invention in light of the foregoing description of illustratedembodiments of the present invention and are to be included within thespirit and scope of the present invention.

Thus, while the present invention has been described herein withreference to particular embodiments thereof, a latitude of modification,various changes and substitutions are intended in the foregoingdisclosures, and it will be appreciated that in some instances somefeatures of embodiments of the invention will be employed without acorresponding use of other features without departing from the scope andspirit of the invention as set forth. Therefore, many modifications maybe made to adapt a particular situation or material to the essentialscope and spirit of the present invention. It is intended that theinvention not be limited to the particular terms used in followingclaims and/or to the particular embodiment disclosed as the best modecontemplated for carrying out this invention, but that the inventionwill include any and all embodiments and equivalents falling within thescope of the appended claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: causing a displaydevice to display a tag overlaid on a video scene in a first portion ofa video screen, the displayed tag being associated with content depictedin the video scene, wherein the displayed tag includes descriptive textinformation, and wherein the displayed tag is clickable, so that uponselection by a user, additional information associated with thedisplayed tag is displayed; receiving an indication that the displayedtag has been selected by a user; based at least in part on the receivedindication, causing the displayed tag to undergo vertical and/orhorizontal repositioning relative to the first portion of the videoscreen, to a second portion of the video screen; and in response to therepositioning, causing the display device to display the video scene inthe first portion of the video screen and the displayed tag in thesecond portion of the video screen, wherein the displaying of thedisplayed tag in the second portion of the video screen includesdisplaying at least a portion of the additional information associatedwith the displayed tag.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the verticaland/or horizontal repositioning comprises continuous motion relative toat least a portion of the video scene.
 3. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: causing the display device to display a second tag overlaidon the video scene in a first portion of the video screen, the displayedsecond tag being associated with second content depicted in the videoscene, wherein the displayed second tag includes descriptive textinformation, and wherein the displayed second tag is clickable, so thatupon selection by the user, additional information associated with thedisplayed second tag is displayed; receiving an indication that thedisplayed second tag has been selected by the user; based at least inpart on the received indication that the displayed second tag has beenselected by the user, causing the second tag to undergo vertical and/orhorizontal repositioning relative to the first portion of the videoscreen, to a second portion of the video screen; and in response to therepositioning of the displayed second tag, causing the display device todisplay the video scene in the first portion of the video screen and thedisplayed second tag in the second portion of the video screen, whereinthe displaying of the displayed second tag includes displaying at leasta portion of the additional information associated with the displayedsecond tag.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising: causing thedisplay device to display, simultaneously with the displayed tag, avisually perceptible indicator extending between a proximity where anitem is depicted in the video scene and a proximity of the tag.
 5. Themethod of claim 4, further comprising: adjusting the visuallyperceptible indicator while the displayed tag overlaid on the videoscene undergoes the vertical and/or horizontal repositioning and causingthe display device to additionally display the visually perceptibleindicator while the displayed tag overlaid on the video scene undergoesthe vertical and/or horizontal repositioning.
 6. The method of claim 1,wherein the displayed tag is surrounded by a visually perceptible borderdefining a tag area.
 7. An apparatus for use with a video displaydevice, the apparatus comprising: a hardware processor; and a memorystoring instructions that configure the hardware processor to: cause thedisplay device to display a tag overlaid on a video scene in a firstportion of a video screen, the displayed tag being associated withcontent depicted in the video scene, wherein the displayed tag includesdescriptive text information, and wherein the displayed tag isclickable, so that upon selection by a user, additional informationassociated with the tag is displayed; receive an indication that thedisplayed tag has been selected by a user; based at least in part on thereceived indication, cause the displayed tag to undergo vertical and/orhorizontal repositioning relative to the first portion of the videoscreen, to a second portion of the video screen; and in response to therepositioning, cause the display device to display the video scene inthe first portion of the video screen and the displayed tag in thesecond portion of the video screen, wherein the displaying of thedisplayed tag includes displaying at least a portion of the additionalinformation associated with the displayed tag.
 8. The apparatus of claim7, wherein the vertical and/or horizontal repositioning comprisescontinuous motion relative to at least a portion of the video scene. 9.The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the memory further stores instructionsthat configure the hardware processor to: cause the display device todisplay a second tag overlaid on the video scene in a first portion ofthe video screen, the displayed second tag being associated with secondcontent depicted in the video scene, wherein the displayed second tagincludes descriptive text information, and wherein the displayed secondtag is clickable, so that upon selection by the user, additionalinformation associated with the displayed second tag is displayed;receive an indication that the displayed second tag has been selected bythe user; based at least in part on the received indication that thedisplayed second tag has been selected by the user, cause the displayedsecond tag to undergo vertical and/or horizontal repositioning relativeto the first portion of the video screen, to a second portion of thevideo screen; and in response to the repositioning of the displayedsecond tag, cause the display device to display the video scene in thefirst portion of the video screen and the displayed second tag in thesecond portion of the video screen, wherein the displaying of thedisplayed second tag includes displaying at least a portion of theadditional information associated with the displayed second tag.
 10. Theapparatus of claim 7, wherein the memory further stores instructionsthat configure the hardware processor to: cause the display device todisplay, simultaneously with the displayed tag, a visually perceptibleindicator extending between a proximity where an item is depicted in thevideo scene and a proximity of the displayed tag.
 11. The apparatus ofclaim 10, wherein the memory further stores instructions that configurethe hardware processor to: adjust the visually perceptible indicatorwhile the displayed tag overlaid on the video scene undergoes thevertical and/or horizontal repositioning and cause the display device toadditionally display the visually perceptible indicator while thedisplayed tag overlaid on the video scene undergoes the vertical and/orhorizontal repositioning.
 12. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the tagis surrounded by a visually perceptible border defining a tag area. 13.A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions storedthereon, the instructions comprising: instructions to cause a displaydevice to display a tag overlaid on a video scene in a first portion ofa video screen, the displayed tag being associated with content depictedin the video scene, wherein the displayed tag includes descriptive textinformation, and wherein the displayed tag is clickable, so that uponselection by a user, additional information associated with thedisplayed tag is displayed; instructions to receive an indication thatthe displayed tag has been selected by a user; instructions to cause,based at least in part on the received indication, the displayed tag toundergo vertical and/or horizontal repositioning relative to the firstportion of the video screen, to a second portion of the video screen;and instructions to cause in response to the repositioning, the displaydevice to display the video scene in the first portion of the videoscreen and the displayed tag in the second portion of the video screen,wherein the displaying of the displayed tag includes displaying at leasta portion of the additional information associated with the displayedtag.
 14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13,wherein the vertical and/or horizontal repositioning comprisescontinuous motion relative to at least a portion of the video scene. 15.The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13, furthercomprising: instructions to cause the display device to display a secondtag overlaid on the video scene in a first portion of the video screen,the displayed second tag being associated with second content depictedin the video scene, wherein the displayed second tag includesdescriptive text information, and wherein the displayed second tag isclickable, so that upon selection by the user, additional informationassociated with the displayed second tag is displayed; instructions toreceive an indication that the displayed second tag has been selected bythe user; instructions to cause, based at least in part on the receivedindication that the displayed second tag has been selected by the user,the displayed second tag to undergo vertical and/or horizontalrepositioning relative to the first portion of the video screen, to asecond portion of the video screen; and instructions to cause inresponse to the repositioning of the displayed second tag, the displaydevice to display the video scene in the first portion of the videoscreen and the displayed second tag in the second portion of the videoscreen, wherein the displaying of the displayed second tag includesdisplaying at least a portion of the additional information associatedwith the displayed second tag.
 16. The non-transitory computer-readablemedium of claim 13, further comprising: instructions to cause thedisplay device to display, simultaneously with the displayed tag, avisually perceptible indicator extending between a proximity where anitem is depicted in the video scene and a proximity of the displayedtag.
 17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16,further comprising: instructions to adjust the visually perceptibleindicator while the displayed tag overlaid on the video scene undergoesthe vertical and/or horizontal repositioning and to cause the displaydevice to additionally display the visually perceptible indicator whilethe displayed tag overlaid on the video scene undergoes the verticaland/or horizontal repositioning.
 18. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the displayed tag issurrounded by a visually perceptible border defining a tag area.